There have only been four Turkish Grands Prix so far, and three of them have produced superb victories for Felipe Massa.
Indeed his form at the track since joining Ferrari has been so good that he might even have taken a clean sweep had he had something more potent than a Sauber at his disposal for the inaugural race in 2005.
A year later he left Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher's title fight in his wake – helped by Schumacher making a rare error on his best qualifying lap – and took his maiden F1 win at Istanbul.He then led new team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in a dominant Ferrari one-two in 2007, before emerging on top of a thrilling fight with Lewis Hamilton last season.
A few weeks ago, few would have dared put any money on Massa prolonging his unbeaten Istanbul record this year.Ferrari was struggling to score, let alone win. Its car was slow, its organisation and strategy sometimes verging on shambolic.
But Stefano Domenicali insisted that the team would stay calm, avoid the hysteria that ruined so many of its title campaigns in the dark old days between Jody Scheckter and Schumacher's crowns, and methodically work back towards the front.And that's exactly what Ferrari did, going from a team that could barely break into Q3, to the squad most likely to scare Brawn this weekend – at least if Monaco form is anything to go by.
Raikkonen is a former Istanbul winner too, having commanded the inaugural race in 2005 when still a McLaren man.It was hard to tell if he had the measure of Massa - something of a rarity nowadays, such has been the reversal in the Ferrari pair's form - in Monaco, or if Massa's wayward moments stopped him delivering his full potential.
Either way, given his amazing Istanbul record, it will be Massa who all eyes will be on in the Ferrari camp this weekend.If Ferrari is to return to winning ways, it will first have to overcome Jenson Button and Brawn.
Button's form this season has been compared to the Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher steamroller years of 1992 and 2004, but while the winning rates are similar, there is one big difference.Whereas previous season dominators have revelled in massive car advantages, unless Brawn is sandbagging very convincingly, Button does not have a vast margin over his pursuers.
The times remain extremely close every weekend, but Button is churning out victories because he is doing everything perfectly whereas his rivals are letting opportunities slip away. While his challengers might occasionally produce less than perfect Q3 laps, take too much out of their soft tyres, or allow themselves to get trapped behind KERS cars, Button has been relentless in achieving the maximum his car and strategy are capable of.
It's that attention to detail that has given him a 16-point lead over his team-mate and a 28-point cushion back to the nearest non-Brawn driver with barely a third of the session completed.And yet he still refuses to speak of himself as a championship favourite, despite all the statistical evidence insisting that drivers – especially in teams run by Ross Brawn – simply do not lose titles after starts this good.
Button's main complaint when faced with questions about his title prospects is that all the focus on the big picture is stopping him from enjoying the races as they come.
After so many years of midfield frustration, Jenson feels like he has been let loose in a toyshop with unlimited pocket money this season - hence his palpable, and very engaging, delight at results like his Monaco triumph.His huge (and slightly shell-shocked) enthusiasm for his 2009 results is a delight to behold, and one can only imagine the euphoria he will feel should he win at Silverstone.Istanbul might not be so high on his 'must-win' list, though.
Ten points are always welcome, but like the other modern tracks, the Turkish venue is not an evocative classic yet.There's very little wrong with the circuit itself, as many drivers have pointed out, with its fast corners and undulation changes, it has the feel of a natural road course like Spa rather than a modern, clinically manufactured, layout.
What's missing is the atmosphere, for the region has yet to really embrace motorsport.Combine the multiple overtaking points, swoops, dips and ultra-fast bends of Istanbul Park with a fervent, cauldron atmosphere such as that provided by the Italian, Brazilian or British fans, and this race would be one of the absolute highlights of the calendar.
So while winning in front of a sparse Turkish crowd at an admittedly awesome track will delight Button if he maintains his run, it might not be as profound a moment as his Monaco success.But if Massa can end Ferrari's angst with some more characteristic Istanbul magic, expect his celebrations to go stratospheric.
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